


Baby Steps

by mcschnuggles



Series: Activating Regression Protocol [7]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Gen, Non-Sexual Age Play, Regressing!Jeremy, Regressing!Rich
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-07-06 19:26:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15892551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcschnuggles/pseuds/mcschnuggles
Summary: Jeremy just wants him and Rich to get along.





	1. Chapter 1

            It’s a relief on his programming to cool down for a bit.

            It’s almost soothing in a way, to see Jeremy sprawled out on the floor and coloring, his blood pressure and heart rate low.

            The Squip tends to go quieter when Jeremy’s little, as there’s not much he can do most of the time. When the others are around, the most he can do is tell Jeremy what he already knows and further stress him out, more often than not.

            It’s times like these where he prefers to look on, watching over Jeremy as he relaxes. He’s currently scribbling in a picture of the Avengers. The coloring book was a gift from Michael.

            He looks back to Brooke and Chloe. Whatever class they share has been heavy with the homework lately, and they’ve already resigned themselves to working past midnight. However, Jenna was out of town and Michael had to do something with his parents, so when Jeremy came to them little, they were the only available options.

            Despite their initial actions, they’ve slowly been gaining the Squip’s approval. They’re kind and sweet, and Jeremy loves them, so the Squip can’t be too disdainful of them. After all, Jeremy’s comfort is his number one priority.

            “Skip?” Jeremy’s staring up at him with wide eyes, making him look impossibly innocent.

            “Yes, Jeremy?”

            “How come you and Richie’s Squip don’t like each other?”

            Of course he’s still dwelling on that. The Squip has been careful to keep Jeremy and Rich separate for the time being, before Rich is fully settled into his headspace, but he won’t tell Jeremy that. “Squips don’t have the ability to dislike anything,” he explains. “Rich’s Squip and I simply have different goals and different priorities.”

            Jeremy blinks at him.

            “Squips often have care protocols for other humans with Squips, but our main concern is our own. Ergo, I’m more concerned for your wellbeing while Rich’s Squip is concerned for Rich’s.”

            Jeremy continues to watch him. There’s a faraway gleam in his eyes, meaning he’s completely checked out and allowed himself to relax. Someone should get him a pacifier, as he’s bound to start sucking on his fingers soon, but there’s nothing the Squip can do about that, so he pushes the thought away for the moment.

            “Do you remember when Rich pushed you last week?”

            Jeremy furrows his brow, the negative memory causing a spike in his heart rate.

            “Well, pumpkin, my concern was making sure you were okay and didn’t feel discouraged about standing up for yourself.” Much to his relief, Jeremy’s heart rate sinks back down to a more regular pace. “Rich’s Squip was concerned with making sure Rich was okay and got the comfort he needed. Since you had the most experience with Rich and could communicate with his Squip, Rich’s Squip enlisted you to do it, but you didn’t want to do that, and I was concerned with making sure you felt comfortable. Our goals often clash.”

            Jeremy hums. Whatever thought compelled him to bring up the topic, it’s already pushed to the back of his mind. “You wanna help me color?”

            The Squip grins. While it is a relief to not be processing a million outcomes at once and factoring in every minutia of human behavior, he will admit it’s a waste to have his processor running for nothing. “Of course, pumpkin.”

            Jeremy preens. It’s so easy to make him happy when he’s this deep in headspace. All you have to do is call him pumpkin and he’s on cloud nine. “What color do you think I should make Spiderman?”

The Squip lies beside him, sending warmth through Jeremy’s left side. “Hmm. While red is the most common choice, I do believe that using various shades of blue would make for an interesting choice that would complement and contrast the yellows of your smiling sun quite well.”

            Jeremy beams, turning his cheeks pink. His left hand is dangerously close to his mouth. “Thanks, Skip.”

            “Look at Jeremy playing with his imaginary friend.” Brooke coos.

            The Squip nods to himself.

            Yes, days like this are ideal.


	2. Chapter 2

            The thought is pushed out of Jeremy’s mind, at least for a few days.

            His thoughts are consumed with homework and class, until he sees Rich make a dash out of their math class.

            To everyone else, he probably just looks like he’s about to vomit, but Jeremy’s been steadily getting better at picking up on the signs. The lost look in Rich’s eyes is more than enough of a signal.

            “Squip? Can I see Rich’s age regression files?”

            The Squip materializes, scrutinizing Jeremy’s features. He’s undoubtedly looking for signs of Jeremy’s own littleness. Jeremy frowns, not liking the disregard for Richie’s feelings. Richie matters too.

            “He seems so sad. I wanna help, but he won’t let me.”

            “He does have a caretaker,” the Squip says, nonetheless pulling up the proper information. “But perhaps his Squip was correct about the benefits of having siblings.”

            Jeremy’s eyes blur as the information floats right over his eyes. At first, it’s a struggle to read, and he’s sure he’s making crazy faces, but his eyes adjust quickly.

            “Extremely prone to jealousy but unwilling to communicate. Very sensitive in headspace. Avoid mentioning his lisp entirely.”

            Jeremy nods. He remembers Richie’s lisp getting a bit more noticeable when he’s littler, but he didn’t want to say anything about it. He’s glad he made the right choice. He keeps reading.

            “More attuned to his own needs while small. Will avoid going for hours without eating like he does when out of headspace. However, easily fussy. Constant snacking throughout the day is recommended. His favorite treats are blueberry muffins.”

            Jeremy bites his lip. “Is there anything about me?”

            The Squip hesitates. “Yes.”

            Jeremy winces. That can’t be good. “Bring it up.”

            The Squip doesn’t bother trying to protest this time. The file reads, “Extremely jealous towards Jeremy. Often places his own hatred of emotional vulnerability on Jeremy, to both separate it from himself and to attack that which he fears. Often gets short-sighted pleasure from antagonizing him, but it isn’t long before guilt sets in. Above all, fears that Jeremy will bully him the way he did to Jeremy.”

            “There’s more,” the Squip says, though the cadence of his voice says he’d be more than happy to call it quits.

            Jeremy waves it away. “I’ve seen enough. I’m done reading.”

            The bell rings, and students shuffle out around him. Jeremy takes his time gathering his things so he won’t have to fight a crowd at the door.

            “I bet his walls would go down if I was nice to him.” Jeremy mutters. He remembers the way Michael urged him to go be nice to Rich and how he’d refused. Would this not even be a problem if he’d just listened to Michael in the first place?

            “Currently, there’s a five percent probability that Rich would approach you if he were little,” the Squip informs him.

            “Why five percent?”

            “Shared kinship. If he were to regress and his caregiver weren’t around, you would be the safest option to turn to.”

            Jeremy hums in thought. How would he sound, if his regression habits were cut up into chunks and percents?

            “Based on the data, there’s a 47% chance you’ll turn to Michael, 33% you’ll turn to Brooke, a 10% you’ll turn to Chloe, and a 7% you’ll turn to Jenna.”

            Jeremy frowns as he calculates the numbers. “That’s a missing 3%.”

            “For extenuating circumstances, when your caregiver of choice is unavailable.”

            Jeremy distantly wonders if the Squip ever gets jealous. Does it make him sad that Jeremy doesn’t spend as much time with him anymore?

            He frowns and shakes his head. He supposes it doesn’t matter right now. But the fact that Rich’s go-to people were 95% this mystery caregiver and 5% another regressor that Rich used to bully isn’t right. He wants Rich to trust him, at least a little bit.

            Jeremy sees Rich come out of the bathroom and disappear into the crowd. From the brief glimpse he managed, he could see that Rich wasn’t in any shape to stay in school, but he seemed intent on powering through.

            “Squip?” Jeremy asks.

            “Yes?”

            “Can you access footage of the cafeteria kitchens?”

            Squip hums his disapproval but complies. “There is currently one worker in the cafeteria. You’ll need to distract her.”

            Jeremy nods. “Can do.”

**Author's Note:**

> mcschnuggles.tumblr.com


End file.
